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9 ago. 2011

Herbs part 1: Mentha Piperita

I love herbs, I love growing them, eating them, drinking them, infusing oils with them, and putting them in my products. I love to take care of them and watch them grow. I even caress them and talk to them daily, and get angry at them when I accidentally get cut with my lemongrass. I am a herb nut! But the most rewarding part is that they love me back, they grow beautiful, strong and green and they make me feel better when I need them.

Having said that I would like to share with you the herbs I have growing in my garden and their properties, starting with my favourite - mint.

I have a very sensitive stomach, whenever I get stressed it hurts horribly, so you'll understand that whatever soothes me is my best friend. Mint is one of those herbs that helps my stomach feel like a million bucks, I'll even drink it when I feel OK. I have both spearmint and regular mint and use them both a lot. I love that they are invading plants, this for me means that I will have a never ending supply of tummy happiness.

But this is no new news for anyone. So I got to investigating.

What else is mint good for? Well....it relieves stomach cramps, indigestion, and nausea. It relieves muscle pain, inflammation, back pain, headaches and migraines. It is also used for the respiratory system specially reducing asthma, bronchitis and dry cough spells. And finally it clears your mind and aids concentration. Who wouldn't love this marvelous herb? It also aids in the production of oil, special for those with dry skin, as well as having a calming effect in case of bug bites or sunburn.

Which products do I use it in? I have two soaps that have mint as their main fragrance ingredient - via essential oil - Mint seaweed soap and chocolate mint soap. I use it in all of my creams by infusing 100% of the water in my formula with mint, and this is said to help stimulate natural oil production without it being and actual oil that will make skin feel icky, it also gives a sense of freshness thanks to the menthol found in the leaves. And finally I have a lip balm that contains mint essential oil for lips that need extra care.

What do I combine mint with? Since I have a sweet tooth, my first combination was with chocolate :) I then read about combining it with rosemary for the added muscle stimulation properties - good for a tired legs cream for example, and it can also be combined with lemon to aid in the mental fatigue department.